THURSDAY, 12:00pm: Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com provides the financial breakdown for Ayers’ two-year deal, which has a base value of $3.75MM and is guaranteed for $1.73MM. There’s also up to $1MM available via incentives.
WEDNESDAY, 9:35am: The Giants have reached an agreement to sign free agent defensive end Robert Ayers, a source tells Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports (Twitter link). According to Garafolo, Ayers will ink a two-year contract with New York.
Although the Giants have been very active in free agency over the last several weeks, the defensive line was one area the team hadn’t really addressed, even after losing Justin Tuck to Oakland. Ayers, a former first-round pick, certainly won’t replace Tuck’s sack numbers, but the former Bronco, who started 27 games in Denver over five seasons, had excellent run-stopping grades in 2013, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required). Using PFF’s metrics, Ayers ranked 14th overall out of 52 qualified 4-3 defensive ends, and also set a career-high with 5.5 sacks.
Prior to the two sides agreeing to terms, Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News and Dave Hutchinson of the Star-Ledger both suggested that a deal with possible — Vacchiano cited “strong mutual interest,” while Hutchinson said talks were “heating up” (Twitter links).